Street cats in Mombasa, Kenya, are being burned, beaten, mutilated and buried alive. They desperately need your help.
An estimated 20,000 to 50,000 cats struggle to survive on the streets of Mombasa – Kenya’s oldest coastal city. They endure agonizing hunger, disease and injury, surviving on scraps wherever they can find them.
While some people show them kindness, many regard them as a nuisance – or worse, as symbols of fear, superstition and witchcraft – leaving them vulnerable to horrific abuse.
This kitten survived, but not without cost. Her one paw was removed and then stolen in the nonsensical belief that a cat’s paw brings luck, protection and wealth. Source: PAW
Being born on Mombasa’s streets is a death sentence for cats.
Cats are attacked simply for scavenging for food. They are doused with boiling oil or scalding water, beaten, maimed and left with devastating injuries.
Others become victims of deeply rooted superstitious beliefs and local witchcraft practices. They are buried alive in attempts to ward off evil spirits. Their paws, bones, ears and eyes are removed and used as charms believed to bring luck, protection or wealth. Black cats are hunted and killed because they are believed to be jinn – supernatural beings capable of taking animal form.
Our partner, Pwani Animal Welfare (PAW), is one of the few organizations helping cats on densely populated Mombasa Island. This small but dedicated team saves sick, injured and abused cats and provides them with emergency veterinary care, rehabilitation, safe shelter and a chance to find loving forever homes.
Pacu-Pacu is a recent victim of abuse. The skin under his jaw was sliced as punishment for stealing food. He is receiving vital treatment. Source: NFA/Byron Seale (left and right); PAW (centre)
But every day brings more emergency calls than the team can answer.
Heartbreaking sadness like this happens around the clock, and our partner is overwhelmed. While emergency rescue and urgent medical care are critical for saving the cats suffering right now, we must also stop the cycle of suffering before it begins.
The animals need our help to provide a vital trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) program across Mombasa Island.
Every unsterilized cat can produce dozens of kittens who will be born into lives of hunger, disease and abuse. By humanely sterilizing street cats, PAW can prevent thousands of kittens from facing the same cruel fate.
Please help stop the suffering of Mombasa’s street cats.
With your support, we can help PAW continue to provide urgent rescue and veterinary care for cats in immediate danger while also funding a critically needed TNVR program. This will protect future generations of cats from being born into harsh lives on the streets.
Humanely sterilizing street cats prevents more kittens from being born into harsh lives, while emergency rescue and treatment helps save those already in need. Source: PAW
Here is how your donation will make a difference today:
- $5 (£4) will support transport for an emergency rescue mission
- $35 (£26) sterilizes and vaccinates one cat, helping prevent future suffering
- $80 (£59) provides a recovery cage for a cat healing after treatment or surgery
- $100 (£74) funds a humane trap needed for rescue and TNVR work
- $200 (£148) provides emergency veterinary care for an injured or abused cat
Every cat rescued and treated is a life saved. Every cat sterilized is a step toward ending this cycle of suffering.
